Charity 3/3

The final installment regards charity, the greatest of all. I was never satisfied with the answer that charity is "the pure love of Christ," or perfect love or any of those answers. I wanted to know exactly what and how it works. What is so special about it and where does it come form? I believe I found answers. 

Moroni 7

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

I really like the breakdown of Moroni's logic here. You are nothing if you do not have charity. Or in other words if you have charity you are something. And why is charity the only substance that brings value? Because it is the only thing that does not fail. There are other concepts that do not fail but Mornoni believes that it all comes back to charity's flawless nature. Everything and Anything that ever exists will crumble through the eternities and relentless test of infinite time. Except the flawless charity that cannot fail for it is perfect. In a way, charity has beaten time itself. There is a fascinating tangent that just occurred to me but I will address it at a later time.

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

Throughout this speech Mormon refers to charity as an it. One who has it one who seeks it those that doe not have it? Whatever it is, it endures forever and is the "pure love of Christ." Whatever the pure love of Christ is.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

This scripture is incredibly complex. I need to take it down backwards. 

To be pure as the Savior, we will have "this Hope" because we have "seen him as he is" for we are like him when we become "the son's of God" as we are "true followers" of Jesus Christ and have prayed "with all energy of heart" for charity. Phew. Lets put it forwards.

 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…

A basic concept here to pray for charity that we may receive that love. Notice how it is not filled with love or filled with the love but filled with THIS love. Indicating that there are many forms of love and charity is only one of them.

…which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God;

THIS love is bestowed upon all the true followers of Christ by the Father, with the result of becoming a Son of God. A Son of God is an interesting term. All I could dig up is this scripture. Romans 8:14

 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It works for me.

…that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is;

At the second coming the Son’s of God will be like him and will see him as he really is. Those that are not Sons of God will not see him as he is. Perhaps because their eyes will be burned out? JK I don’t know. In any event because our purity is like the Saviors we will be able to see him in his true form when he comes.

…that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

The semicolon is very important and I will work from the assumption that it is properly placed according to the wishes of Moroni. The first phrase is defined by the second. Reversing it and removing the semicolon helps.

We may be purified even as he is pure, we may have this hope

At the climax of charity is the hope that we can be as spotless as the Savior eventually.

I truly believe that just loving people is not the zenith of charity. There is something deeper and more personal. Do we have faith enough to make covenants? Do we believe that we can be as pure as the Savior? Do we really see that inside of ourselves? We need to see what it looks like in the first place to apply it. Our fallen state has forever banished us to death but the atonement solves that for us as a free gift. 

What is not free is the character we develop by our own choices. Our character is not a gift and therefore we can take credit for its development. Christ did not make me honest or humble, I did and Christ forgives mistakes because of my imperfection. Christ’s atonement covers our errors but he leaves our weaknesses for us to overcome.

 It is my agency and mine alone that decided to follow Christ. Do I believe that I can continue until I am as pure as the Savior? Not as clean as the Savior. His Grace and Mercy can make me as clean as him but can I become as perfect? I think that is the ultimate charity question. In the words of Neil A. Maxwell, "the true measure of our discipleship is weather we are willing to patiently turn our weaknesses."